Code Name Tiranga Review : Parineeti Chopra, Harrdy Sandhu Stand Out In This Not-So-Formula Spy Film

'Code Name: Tiranga' is an interesting mix of the familiar with the unfamiliar. It is conventional although with some nuances but it mostly conforms to the formula film structure of this genre.

New Delhi: 'Code Name: Tiranga' is like a regular formula spy-thriller whose conventionalities are inverted to suit a female spy-protagonist played by Parineeti Chopra. For that alone, the film is worth a mention. However, solid performances by a stellar cast hold the film together which tends to get way past its due especially in the second half.

'Code Name: Tiranga' also stars Harrdy Sandhu, Sharad Kelkar,  Rajit Kapur, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Shishir Sharma. 

'Code Name: Tiranga' begins with a voiceover-narration of Parineeti giving some cliched talk about life in general. Post this, the film begins in Afghanistan as the two leads, Parineeti and Harrdy Sandhu meet each other. Their romance follows until it is revealed that the true identity of Parineeti's character is that of Durga, a special-ops spy of the R & AW wing from India.

The first-half of 'Code Name: Tiranga' works like a well-cooked potboiler. It has the right pace, well-written dialogues even though some borderline cringe stuff exists, solid performances, and an organic screenplay.

This Ribhu Dasgupta directorial will keep you hooked until the film closes for the first half. It is only in the second half of 'Code Name: Tiranga' that you wish the film ends the sooner the better.

Filmed in the typical two climaxes of the first half and second half, 'Code Name: Tiranga' also has some bizarre and formulaic elements of a theatre entertainer.

For instance; a Punjabi song begins to play in the opening sequence of the film amidst the sandy dunes of Afghan terrain. Then, just when Parineeti is about to break into action, Hindi films with a slightly Middle-East bent begin playing 'Mast Kalandar' in the backdrop as intense action sequences happen on-screen.

The only refreshing view on-screen is that of a woman spy battling goons in a burqa. Also, the way action sequences are choreographed, the make-believe relatability works in some cases.

This one particular scene where we see Parineeti/Durga hesitate to shoot a man in front of Harrdy( Mirza) as cliche as it is, is well-performed by the actress.

In fact, Parineeti's performance in the film deserves a special mention. The actress lends the right kind of pragmatic depth to the otherwise films about spies' who mostly have a straight face in all situations.

'Code Name: Tiranga' also punctures expectations just when as an audience you expect something else to happen. As trained and generalized viewer perception is, you expect Parineeti to get caught in a particular fashion but then inverting of stereotypes happen every time there is a moment of apprehension.

There is minimal experimentation with the form in 'Code Name: Tiranga'. This happens in a scene where Parineeti rotates the camera to show herself and in the climax action shot where we see a full-fledged copy of a Call Of Duty sequence of action.

The background score of 'Code Name: Tiranga' suits the genre of the film. The songs and even the Vande Mataram rendition in the climax collectively just don't fit.

In fact, most of the second half-with a constant switch in terrain is all over the place. The screenplay is patchy, dialogues full-on cringe and every good thing that happens in the first-half just gets blown away in the second.

The second half begins with a replay of 40-50 seconds to reveal an element in the backstory but post this, there really isn't anything to sustain your attention in the predictable plot.

What really keeps you hooked as audiences is the chemistry between Harrdy's character and that of Parineeti's in the second-half. There are moments of vulnerabilities which are never completely exploited and yet the romance lands in its own way.

Suddenly, the national mission about 'tiranga ki aanch' becomes personal and vengeance is sought on a personal scale. Sharad Kelkar is underutilized as an actor in the film. He plays the arch villain avenging the death of a closed one from Parineeti.

All formula tropes of the genre, a bike-car chase sequence , woman rescuing a man; all happen.

A moment that stands out in the second half is of Parineeti smoking a cigarette in the 'best-wounded-soldier' fashion which happens so perceptively that it cannot go without mention.

Another sequence is when Durga is in search of Omar, the filmmaker uses montage to establish the intention with inflected images.

Finding Omar and killing him could have been the best possible close for the film but 'Code Name: Tiranga' gets way too long first with the Call of Duty sequence scored with a Vande Mataram' rendition and then with Parineeti voicing the power of womanhood etc.

'Code Name: Tiranga' is an interesting mix of the familiar with the unfamiliar. It is conventional although with some nuances but it mostly conforms to the formula film structure of this genre.